The movie is made on the scale of a classic, but it falls short of the mark because it needs crisper editing. On the whole, it surely leaves a mark! No doubt.
I am not a historian, so I cannot mention how accurately history was depicted in the movie; but the feel of the movie ah, the feel! is surely something that takes you to that Era. The clothes, the sets, the jewellery! Let me get rid of the flaws first: Ashutosh Gowariker is not an action director, so the battle scenes and even the action sequences lack panache when they could have been executed brilliantly especially since Hrithik Roshan can do action fabulously well. The first battle scenes are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, down to the swinging of the swords in linear movement, much like the Elves did when the Orcs attack. The march of the elephants is much like the Mumakil that come out to crunch the riders of Rohan in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Some of the lesser character actors have terrible dialogue delivery. And in most cases, the dialogues themselves get weighed down by verbosity and surprisingly, the characters who speak Hindi sound more uncomfortable with it then the ones who have to deal with Urdu diction.
Sonu Sood who plays Sujamal, Jodhaa's cousin, enacts his part with restraint and he kept reminding me of a young Amitabh Bachchan. Suhasini Mulay as Jodhaa's mother, Padmavati, is apt for the role, in fact, her stature was wasted in Lagaan and Ashutosh finally casts her perfectly. Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Jodhaa's father, Raja Bharmal, does what he did in Lagaan. This felt like an offshoot of the same character he played there.
Nikitin Dheer who plays Mirza Shariffuddin Hussain has done a good job for a newcomer and he suits the role of a solid warrior who thinks Akbar unfit to rule. Mrs. Punam S. Sinha, who plays Akbar's mother, surprisingly carries off the role with poise despite a strong accent in her voice that interferes with the use of the Urdu dialect. But Ila Arun performing the role of Maham Anga is someone to watch out for. Her intensity vibrates from the screen as she plays power games with the new woman in Akbar's life. The jealousy she exudes is almost tangible and the pathos of the character's end is touching indeed she truly deserves a reputable mention.
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is well, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan. She fits the role because she is usually stiff and aloof. If anyone was to play a queen she would be it so her role was well-cast. She has worn brown contact lenses for the role, which shows that Indian film-makers are now thinking of certain details that need to be thought about.
Though I am a fan of Hrithik Roshan, I felt that the role of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar did not suit him to a tee like say, for instance, a Krish or an Aryan Singh. I cannot pinpoint the reason for this, maybe it was the bad moustache sitting above his lips, or maybe because I never pictured Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar to have such a beautiful body. Maybe. But I did say, 'did not suit him to a tee' which leaves me room to add further, that he tried his best and that shows in his acting. Also the director's vision was to show the Mughal Emperor as a sensitive soul and that is what Hrithik evocatively brings about either in the vulnerability he portrays, while apologising to Maham Anga, or the passion tinged with restraint he exhibits when dealing with his distant wife.
The cinematography by Kiran Deohans is fabulous. The scope of most shots is all-encompassing but somehow the feel of an epic lags behind. The feeling that one gets is something that closes inward rather than something that opens outward. And in some scenes, the lighting could have vastly been improved upon. Neeta Lulla's costumes are fabulous, too and the jewellery provided by Tanishq is awe-inspiring. They, combined, bring about the look and feel of the movie more than what actually should be created by the story, the actors and the director.
What touched me most within the entire movie was the picturisation of the song "Khwaja Mere Khwaja". It was completely surreal - the melody and rhythm in this Sufi song mixed with the pristine costumes and depiction of the scene completely enraptured me. Much like the character of Akbar, I felt like standing up and joining the singers in this moment of rhapsody! Truly a delight! Apart from this, I cannot say for certain, I liked this part of the movie or that part. They are parts which have been put into a whole and made coherent, somehow; but yet, I will go back to see this movie one more time. I feel it is a movie that needs to be viewed more than once in order to grasp the different nuances that are spread throughout. It ebbs and flows with its own life and at places, the creators of the movie themselves lost control over it, and that is noticeable. But one cannot blame them for that for that is the wont of any creative process. Although perfection comes when restraint is used over unnecessary unravelling and digression.
In a way, I am glad that the director hasn't used much restraint within the movie, because it would kill this feeling of 'je ne sais quoi' that flows through my enjoyment of this movie.
I am not a historian, so I cannot mention how accurately history was depicted in the movie; but the feel of the movie ah, the feel! is surely something that takes you to that Era. The clothes, the sets, the jewellery! Let me get rid of the flaws first: Ashutosh Gowariker is not an action director, so the battle scenes and even the action sequences lack panache when they could have been executed brilliantly especially since Hrithik Roshan can do action fabulously well. The first battle scenes are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, down to the swinging of the swords in linear movement, much like the Elves did when the Orcs attack. The march of the elephants is much like the Mumakil that come out to crunch the riders of Rohan in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Some of the lesser character actors have terrible dialogue delivery. And in most cases, the dialogues themselves get weighed down by verbosity and surprisingly, the characters who speak Hindi sound more uncomfortable with it then the ones who have to deal with Urdu diction.
Sonu Sood who plays Sujamal, Jodhaa's cousin, enacts his part with restraint and he kept reminding me of a young Amitabh Bachchan. Suhasini Mulay as Jodhaa's mother, Padmavati, is apt for the role, in fact, her stature was wasted in Lagaan and Ashutosh finally casts her perfectly. Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Jodhaa's father, Raja Bharmal, does what he did in Lagaan. This felt like an offshoot of the same character he played there.
Nikitin Dheer who plays Mirza Shariffuddin Hussain has done a good job for a newcomer and he suits the role of a solid warrior who thinks Akbar unfit to rule. Mrs. Punam S. Sinha, who plays Akbar's mother, surprisingly carries off the role with poise despite a strong accent in her voice that interferes with the use of the Urdu dialect. But Ila Arun performing the role of Maham Anga is someone to watch out for. Her intensity vibrates from the screen as she plays power games with the new woman in Akbar's life. The jealousy she exudes is almost tangible and the pathos of the character's end is touching indeed she truly deserves a reputable mention.
Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is well, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan. She fits the role because she is usually stiff and aloof. If anyone was to play a queen she would be it so her role was well-cast. She has worn brown contact lenses for the role, which shows that Indian film-makers are now thinking of certain details that need to be thought about.
Though I am a fan of Hrithik Roshan, I felt that the role of Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar did not suit him to a tee like say, for instance, a Krish or an Aryan Singh. I cannot pinpoint the reason for this, maybe it was the bad moustache sitting above his lips, or maybe because I never pictured Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar to have such a beautiful body. Maybe. But I did say, 'did not suit him to a tee' which leaves me room to add further, that he tried his best and that shows in his acting. Also the director's vision was to show the Mughal Emperor as a sensitive soul and that is what Hrithik evocatively brings about either in the vulnerability he portrays, while apologising to Maham Anga, or the passion tinged with restraint he exhibits when dealing with his distant wife.
The cinematography by Kiran Deohans is fabulous. The scope of most shots is all-encompassing but somehow the feel of an epic lags behind. The feeling that one gets is something that closes inward rather than something that opens outward. And in some scenes, the lighting could have vastly been improved upon. Neeta Lulla's costumes are fabulous, too and the jewellery provided by Tanishq is awe-inspiring. They, combined, bring about the look and feel of the movie more than what actually should be created by the story, the actors and the director.
What touched me most within the entire movie was the picturisation of the song "Khwaja Mere Khwaja". It was completely surreal - the melody and rhythm in this Sufi song mixed with the pristine costumes and depiction of the scene completely enraptured me. Much like the character of Akbar, I felt like standing up and joining the singers in this moment of rhapsody! Truly a delight! Apart from this, I cannot say for certain, I liked this part of the movie or that part. They are parts which have been put into a whole and made coherent, somehow; but yet, I will go back to see this movie one more time. I feel it is a movie that needs to be viewed more than once in order to grasp the different nuances that are spread throughout. It ebbs and flows with its own life and at places, the creators of the movie themselves lost control over it, and that is noticeable. But one cannot blame them for that for that is the wont of any creative process. Although perfection comes when restraint is used over unnecessary unravelling and digression.
In a way, I am glad that the director hasn't used much restraint within the movie, because it would kill this feeling of 'je ne sais quoi' that flows through my enjoyment of this movie.